Pages tagged "our_milestones"

WE DID IT! Intro. 1259 is our FIRST BILL to originate with our membership--and it was passed today by NYC Council! 1259 was developed by our team, brought to introduction, pushed by our membership, opened to hearing, and finally voted to passage today thanks to the hard work of our members and team. We give our hearty thanks and congratulations to all of our members who gave input, took action, and supported our efforts with your dues and donations. This would not have been possible without you!

After negotiation with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, the NYC Council announced today that the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget is now finalized.

Earlier this year we set a Spring Agenda that included protecting and increasing NYC's budget for veterans, and adoption of a needed exemption from rising school taxes for veteran homeowners. We're both proud and grateful to our members and allies who helped us achieve results for our community.

Take a look at what's in the new budget for veterans, which will take effect on July 1, 2017:

A key piece of our Spring Policy Agenda was inclusion of the Alternative (School Tax) Exemption for Veterans in the city's budget for Fiscal Year 2018--and we're proud to announce that this was included in the final $85 billion budget deal reached by the Mayor and NYC Council last Friday evening!

Special thanks to Council Member Steven Matteo for leading on this in NYC Council and his continuous advocacy for the more than 58,000 veteran homeowners who will now be entitled to long overdue tax relief.

NEW YORK, NY – March 13, 2017 – NYC Veterans Alliance, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that empowers military veterans and their families to become politically active through four engaging programs – Policy & Legislative Advocacy, OurVeterans.NYC, Civic Leadership, and Get Ready to Run – today announced significant Organization milestones as well as a fiscal sponsorship with Intersections International, a New York City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to building community relationships and forging common ground.

We are immensely proud of our newest class of Get Ready to Run Fellows! January 6-9 was their challenge to push themselves through four days of intensive, long days and nights of training, networking, and working with their cohort members to grow and learn and develop as rising leaders getting ready to run for elected office.

We drafted and proposed this resolution in May in support of the bill that originated with our member, Kristofer Goldsmith and his DC-based nonprofit, High Ground Veterans Advocacy. It was introduced by Councilman Andy King earlier this month. The resolution urges Congress to pass, and the President to sign into law, the Fairness for Veterans Act of 2016, which would mandate a fair review process for veterans discharged administratively under less-than-honorable conditions, often for circumstances stemming from PTSD, traumatic brain injury, or sexual assault. Watch highlights of the hearing here:

Today we were proud to stand with Public Advocate Tish James, Council Member Jumaane Williams, Commissioner Loree Sutton, and Commissioner Carmelyn Malalis to mark the introduction of the bill we drafted and proposed last spring to amend NYC's human rights laws to include protections for veterans and military members. The bill's language has been updated to summarize this as "uniformed service," and express the most inclusive definition possible. We approved this change within the last few weeks, and we are proud to be part of moving this legislation forward. Below is the statement of Founding Director Kristen Rouse at today's press conference at City Hall:

On August 2, 2016, the NYC Veterans Alliance teamed up with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and NYC Votes to register new voters and inform voters on veterans issues. View our photos of this inspiring day:

by Kristen L. Rouse

On Tuesday evening, NYC Public Advocate Tish James presented the NYC Veterans Alliance with a Proclamation that says, in part:

Be it Resolved that I, Public Advocate for the City of New York, Letitia James, recognize the NYC Veterans Alliance as an organization worthy of our highest respect and esteem; and may it further be Proclaimed, that today, June 28, 2016, is a day to honor NYC Veterans Alliance.

This Proclamation is thanks to you! We are proud to add this to the two pens we received from Mayor Bill de Blasio when he signed bills that we advocated for into law--in addition to our string of successes over the last year that we hope you take as much pride in as we do.

From our first policy agenda meeting last September to our Policy Design Workshop in December, follow-on group "Draft" workshops in January, and community responses to our 2016 surveys--it has been clear that veterans, military members, and their families are facing a wide range of challenges that can and must be addressed at the local level. But foundational to all of these issues is one key absence: veterans and military members are not included as protected categories of persons in NYC's human rights law.